Douglas County Association for Gifted and Talented (DCAGT) is a non-profit group of parents, educators and community leaders that supports the educational and emotional needs of gifted and advanced learners in Douglas County. We are an affiliate of the Colorado Association for Gifted and Talented (CAGT). Our mission is to foster an understanding of all gifted children and their exceptional needs and to support and promote the gifted community of Douglas County.

November 8, 2016

IQ Testing Your Child - November 9th

Join us for a program on
November 9th

For those students in the
Douglas County School District who recently took the CogAT /
Cognitive Abilities Test, the results were mailed to parents by last Friday.
Please join us this Wednesday, November9th(see below) for a program on
understanding IQ Test results by Dr. Veronica Johnson of Envision Clinic.
This is if you are new to the information or simply want a
refresher. Keep in mind, if you want to consider your child for the
district’s Discovery program, applications are due December1st.

A number of students have
recently taken the CogAT test in Douglas County School District. It can
be nerve-wracking to receive the results, especially if you are anticipating a
particular score. While I’m hopeful that your child’s CogAT results give
you information that you already suspected to be true, I believe it
helps to have context about what IQ is and what it isn’t.

The first thing to know about IQ
test results is that the results do not define your child. Your child is
much more than a number (or set of numbers, as the case may be). This is so
important I think it bears repeating: Your child is much more than
their IQ. Your child is the combination of their personality, humor,
relationships, spirituality, physical body, emotions, and so much more.

IQ test scores do not measure an
innate trait, like sex or chromosomal syndromes. An IQ test measures how well a
child does on an IQ test. A bunch of psychologists have come up with ideas
about what IQ is and what it isn’t, and they’ve devised ways of measuring what
they are trying to describe (intelligence). But you should know that this has
changed over the years as they’ve tried to improve their ideas and measuring
techniques. Now… IQ scores are correlated with other behaviors, such as school
and occupational achievements, but please remember IQ is not something in
someone’s DNA.

We want to think of an IQ test
score like your child’s height. The height does not make a child who he or she
is. It may help or hinder certain activities; for instance, a five-foot-two-inch
boy may not do as well at basketball. But the height of the child does not
determine the child’s identity or future. A six-foot-four-inch boy may not
excel at basketball or even like the sport.

Similarly, IQ may influence what
your child does in his or her life and how he or she does it. But his or her IQ
test score is merely one part of your child.

It’s also important to know that
IQ is not always one number. When we have our child tested, we are typically
looking for information. And, oh how we long for clear, concise, and consistent
information. When grandma calls and asks about the test results, wouldn’t it be
nice to just give her one number? And wouldn’t it be great to hear the number
and know for certain whether or not the child will end up in the Discovery
Program? This does not always happen.

It is fairly common to need more
than one IQ score to describe a child’s abilities. IQ is a complex idea that
includes many different cognitive abilities. People typically vary on their
performance of these abilities. The IQ scores in each of these ability areas
give information, they seek to describe the strengths and challenges that are
part of your child’s experience. If the strengths are super strong and the
challenges are quite weak, one number doesn’t give us accurate information; it
underestimates the strengths as well as the challenges. More numbers can be
quite helpful by giving us more precise information of the child’s abilities.

Most important, please know that
IQ does not make or break a child. IQ does not ensure success in a career. IQ
does not predict whether an individual experiences joy or finds contentment in
life. Whether your child ends up identified as gifted or not, Douglas County
School District provides excellent education for all children. I’m hopeful your
child will receive attention, knowledge and challenge appropriate for their
abilities.

Gifted and Talented Organizations

About

Douglas County Association for Gifted and Talented is a volunteer organization supporting gifted education in Douglas County, Colorado. We are an affiliate of the Colorado Association for Gifted and Talented.